#29 - 101 CraftsTo Make - Tomato Pincushion

Good Morning!

Moving on with 101 Crafts to Make I have finished this cute little Tomato Pincushion. These are a classic style of pincushion - I'm sure you've seen one before.

It turned out a little squishy but it works great!

 I am considering making a how-to for this project because it is so simple! We'll have to wait until I have a bit more time for something like that.

It is the end of the month so I will see you all in March!

Thanks to all of you who have taken the time to comment and give me your opinions and encouragements - it means a lot!

Ciao,

THE BOOK LIST - 250 Books!

Today, as promised I am posting the list of books that I made for myself to eventually acquire. Those that are crossed off have already been found. This list does not include all of the books that I already own. If you have any additions I would love to hear them! I am considering maintaining this list (crossing off acquisitions and adding as necessary) - we'll see if that pans out....

#1 - 101 Crafts to Make - Martinique Charm Quilt Pt. 1

The end of the week! Thank goodness it is Friday – things are calmer here at work which is nice. I am glad to be able to catch up on all of my work and also have some time in the evenings to contribute to my blog.

Today I am going to start Part 1. of a two part post to be completed at a later date. This is because I had some time in the last week to start on one of my projects for 101 Crafts. This summer I purchased something called “charm squares”. They are pre-cut pieces of fabric in a fabric family packaged neatly to be made into a quilt. My pattern is called “Martinique” and I am really excited to be working on it. I realize that I haven’t finished posting about the other quilt I was making a while back, but this charm quilt is simply too cute not to be started!

I have a few preliminary photos for you to show some of my progress. Once I have time again (March?) I will be posting my progress – so stay tuned for Martinique Pt. 2!

What could be in this nondescript bag?

Charm squares to make a Charm quilt!

Starting to sew.....

Here you can see the three rows I have finished so far. Not much, but I have been top stitching all of the seams so that it lies flat. A bit of extra work but it sure looks nice!

Close up of the top stitched seams.

Well, that was the beginning. I still have quite a ways to go before this one is done. It is going to look lovely when it is completed.

As always I would love to hear about what you are doing!

Ciao,

 

TODAY! FREE GIFTS! - My Mother The Man-Eater Book Launch - Amazon

FREE GIFTS WITH PURCHASE!

TODAY is the much anticipated Amazon launch of my mother's new book: "My Mother The Man-Eater".

If any of you lovely readers purchase the book TODAY (February 24th) from Amazon you will be eligible for a plethora of FREE GIFTS.

These gifts include FREE first chapters of newly published books, FREE Art Cards, FREE editing/critiques for your own manuscripts (limited number of pages), FREE short stories from BEST SELLING authors, FREE marketing presentations and MUCH MORE!

Once you have purchased the book on Amazon follow the link below to receive your FREE gifts:

*FREE GIFTS*

. You may choose one or ALL of the FREE GIFTS listed!

Remember:

1: Go to Amazon

2: Purchase "My Mother The Man-Eater" by Tracy Krauss

3: Get your FREE GIFTS

The Author Tracy Krauss with her newly published book "My Mother The Man-Eater".

I hope that many of you will be able to support an emerging author and purchase this book through Amazon.

Don't forget about the many Free Gifts available to you!

If you are unable to do so yourself it would also be wonderful if you would ask your local library to purchase a copy to be put in circulation.

As always have a wonderful day!

Ciao,

FREE GIFTS! - My Mother The Man-Eater Book Launch - Amazon

FREE GIFTS WITH PURCHASE!

Tomorrow is the much anticipated Amazon launch of my mother's new book: "My Mother The Man-Eater".

If any of you lovely readers purchase the book tomorrow (February 24th) from Amazon you will be eligible for a plethora of FREE GIFTS.

These gifts include FREE first chapters of newly published books, FREE Art Cards, FREE editing/critiques for your own manuscripts (limited number of pages), FREE short stories from BEST SELLING authors, FREE marketing presentations and MUCH MORE!

Once you have purchased the book on Amazon follow the link below to receive your FREE gifts:

*FREE GIFTS*

. You may choose one or ALL of the FREE GIFTS listed!

Remember:
1: Go to Amazon
2: Purchase "My Mother The Man-Eater" by Tracy Krauss
3: Get your FREE GIFTS

 

The Author Tracy Krauss with her newly published book "My Mother The Man-Eater".

I hope that many of you will be able to support an emerging author and purchase this book through Amazon.

Don't forget about the many Free Gifts available to you!

If you are unable to do so yourself it would also be wonderful if you would ask your local library to purchase a copy to be put in circulation.

As always have a wonderful day!

Ciao, 

101 Crafts to Make #43 - Crochet Dish Cloth

Another easy craft on my list, but at least I am making progress!

My Dad's mother taught me how to crochet when I was young but I have never actually made a dishcloth before. I didn't use a pattern for this one but just made rows of random stitches. It turned out funky with the stripes running from the first row to the last row not quite of the same pattern. No matter, it is quite functional and that is really all that matters with a dishcloth. 

I think that if I make more in the future I will make knitted ones instead as my squares of knitting seem to turn out a lot more square than my crochet squares. I may simply need some more practice with crocheting squares. That or maybe I should follow a pattern!

Here we have my first few crocheted rows.

And here, the final product.

Hope you enjoyed! I am working on quite a few of the more challenging crafts on my list of 101 and I am really hoping I will be able to make all of them before my time is up... Only 6 months and 95 more crafts to go.

Wish me luck! 

Ciao, 

 

A Belated Happy St. Valentine's Day! & Cheap Books

So I realize that Valentines Day has been over for more than a week now but I still wanted to post about it. Aren surprised me with some roses that morning. We were planning on going out to do some shopping because I had just realized that all of the old classic novels which I loved didn't belong to me. They were my sister's or my mother's and quite frankly my fiction collection was lacking. Ok, basically it was non-existent.

While I was in the shower getting ready to go out searching for books he snuck out of the house and bought me these really pretty flowers.

 

I purchased a bottle of champagne this year and we shared a glass while watching a really lame romantic movie. I don't like them very much but I guess if you are going to bother watching one it might as well be on Valentine's Day.

You must think I forgot all about the books .... au contrair .....

We first went to Goodwill on our search because although there is a great used book store in town I figured that since my list was so large (185+) I would need to save every penny I could in order to acquire them all.

I can tell you I am sure glad that we went to Goodwill first. The bookshelves were filled with books on my list as well as others which I had forgotten to add to it. This trip was like hitting the jackpot, especially when the hardcover cost $3.99 and the paperback cost $2.49. The Children's books were even cheaper at $1.49 for hardcover and $0.99 for paperback. Amazing.

In the end we bought quite a few.....

 

(this is a close up so you can better read some of the titles)

We did also visit the used book store as there were many of the books I wanted which weren't at Goodwill. Of course the prices were a lot higher and I only bought a couple from the store.

Gradually I hope to be able to buy/receive all of the books on my list. I'm sure there are those of you out there who couldn't imagine buying/owning so many books but in our family they are treasured possessions.

When I have a chance I will be sure to post a list of all of the books I am aiming to obtain for my fiction collection. I'm sure it will take a long time though as they will not all be available for $2.50 and the list will be revised as new books are printed/discovered.

I would love to hear about what you are reading or if you have any suggestions to add to my library.

Ciao!

Stained Glass Queen - A Painting

Recently I have had a bit more time for the creative pursuits. This could be due to the fact that the holidays are over or perhaps because we have settled into a more regular routine here at home. Whatever the case may be, I am quite happy about being able to spend extra time doing what I like to do.
Today's post features a painting that I did these past few weeks. Inspired by stain glass windows, a painting I saw at my cousin's house and old religious artwork - I hope you will enjoy it!

 Before starting this painting I drew a sketch of what I wanted it to look like. I find it helps to keep me on track and focused on what the finished product should look like. I don't always do a sketch though.

  

Here we have all of my paints ready to go. I like to use old lids as paint palettes, they clean off really easily.

 

Lighter colours to darker colours is the way I like to paint. Here we have the white being painted in. I drew a sketch in pencil behind of some of the basic areas. Normally I would never use pencil as it shows through but because I was lining this painting with black (like stained glass) I knew it wouldn't really matter.

 Yellow and light brown.

 

Here we have some of the outline started and more colour added with light blue and magenta.

 

Now you can really see the painting coming to life. Lots of colour has been added as well as some of the shading in the background and the face.

 As I was working on filling in the colour I couldn't help but notice that I really disliked the shape of the face. The chin appeared much too wide for the face and the lips seemed too high and too red. These things would definitely need to be fixed.Lots of highlights have been added as well as some more shading.

I decided to finish all of the outlining before moving on to fix the face. 

And finally - the fix.

 Her face looks much softer now, much more serene. I am really pleased with how all of this turned out - I already have it hung up in my home.

I have plans in the near future to paint a very large painting. Most of my work to date has been under 20x24 and it would be a nice challenge to take on a bigger canvas I think.
Don't worry - I promise to let you know how things go along the way.
Ciao,

More Lovely Matryoshka Dolls

These are the last two Matryoshka dolls that I bought. I actually have had them since the summer, but didn't think to post about them for whatever reason. The black and yellow one even has personalized Birthday greetings painted onto the bottom - how cute!
I am hoping to add a couple more dolls to my collection this year, we'll see how Aren feels about that I guess....... 

I was so excited when these new dolls first arrived and couldn’t believe how small the ten piece set actually gets. Miniscule! I still can't believe it.

Of course these dolls were also purchased from Elena Beytane via EBay. Now I need to get some type of curio cabinet to display all of the dolls on.

There Is Nothing Like Garden Fresh Veggies

I am finding a recurring theme in a lot of my posts - a return to simple pleasures. Cooking, making, doing and above all enjoying every part of these things. The process, the planning, the work and the outcome.

Well, here we have another post on simple pleasures. From the title I am sure you can guess what it is about.

Aren and I have been really fortunate over the years in that his parents have an AMAZING garden and have been kind enough to share the fruits of their labour with us.

Of course, eventually we would love to have our own garden and grow our own food too.

This past summer we were up to visit Aren's parents and it was so refreshing to be able to go out in to the garden and grab whatever it was you wanted to eat at that moment.

Potatoes and tomatoes? No Problem. Cucumber or rhubarb? How about a fresh salad with herbs? All of it is readily available and oh so delicious.

I managed to take a few pictures before wolfing down all of the good foods we ate, although I got a bit caught up in eating and forgot to take photos of our meals once they were prepared.

Freshly chopped rhubarb.

Two varieties of cucumber and a Russian variety of tomato.

Broccoli!

Cooking the Rhubarb. This was soooo scrumptious!

We were even able to find some mushrooms in the woods which were cooked up into a creamy sauce.

Really, truly, there is nothing like garden fresh food.

Ciao,